Back to the Multiverse
by Yel Ashaya
Summary: A teenage girl who dreams of space, but she is trapped in our century, our universe. What if a freak accident were to cause our world and Star Trek's to align? Please review. :) Disclaimer: Star Trek is not mine; my OC is (it is kind of me... :P)


"Energise," Mr Data looked firmly at the transporter chief and nodded. The chief obeyed the command and carried out the action.

The booming voice of captain Picard became apparent."Bridge to transporter room."

Chief O'Brien turned on the comm. "O'Brien here."

"Has Mr Data beamed down to Alpha Sigma IV?"

"Yes, transport was successful... Oh, wait... "

Picard's voice grew concerned after hearing this. "What is it, chief?"

"You'd better come down here... "

"On my way, stand by."

Captain Picard made his way to the transporter room, accompanied by his first officer.

Once they had arrived at their destination, number one bore a confused look. "Chief, what is it?"

"I don't know. But, look at these readings." He gestured to the transporter control panel.

"Oh god." Riker looked at his captain.

Picard had no explanation, either. "This is very odd. Do you have any idea what caused these readings?"

"I'm afraid I don't, sir. I'm not even sure if the transporter could be used safely now."

"What about Data?" William Riker remembered.

"I don't know, commander. I really don't know."

"So, Data could be anywhere?" Riker asked, hoping for an answer.

"That is very likely. He could be on a different planet, or inside a star, or... drifting through space. He could even be in an other dimension."

"Is that possible?" Riker asked an other question.

"It seems very possible. The high readings would indicate such a phenomena."

"Thank you, chief." Picard showed his appreciation. "Let us know if you have any new information."

"Ugh." The teenager sighed and got up. She walked through the lounge area of the house and into the medium sized kitchen. "Great, no milk." She grimaced as she closed the somewhat odorous fridge door. Whose idea was it to buy blue cheese?

She returned back to the lounge and picked up the remote control, turning the television off. She yawned and walked up the carpeted stairs; walking straight ahead when she reached the landing area and turned the knob of the bathroom door.

She opened the door and when it was fully open, she let out a high pitched scream and walked backwards, almost falling down the stairs. She came to her senses and then began to confront what she had just seen. She blinked. She blinked again. Still, it remained there. _Oh, God,_ she thought, _this is real._

"What? Who? Who... Who are you?" She stammered and leant against the bathroom wall, as to make sure she didn't faint.

The figure looked down at here and tilted his head to one side, indication curiosity and slight confusion. Data looked at the short, thin teenaged girl, and thought. She had pale skin and long brown hair, half of which was covering her face. She had a very natural appearance; the makeup was kept to the bare minimum, but her eyes stood out like stars in the night sky.

The figure looked thoughtful; the cogs in his brain turning helpfully. "I am sorry to intrude," he said in an even tone.

"Look," she says, gathering her bearings, not absolutely certain that she was not dreaming. "Cut the Prime Directive crap."

He looked puzzled. Alarmed, even.

She sighed. "What are you doing here?" She raised an eyebrow and held on to the gormless look.

"I apologise, this was not my destination. But, may I ask, how you know of the Prine is a primitive civilisation." Not long before the girl had entered, Data had looked out of the small bathroom window, catching sight of a few trees, a trampoline and heard the noise of what he assumed to be traffic - petrol powered traffic.

"Erm... Wait. Come with me." She pointed to the room down the corridor, with pink walls and a recently polished laminate wood floor. _Pfft... Who's he calling primitive?_ She thought to herself.

The android followed her and they came to the room.

"This is... my bedroom." _Did I just say that?_

The Starfleet officer looked at her blankly and blinked twice.

She sighed and her cheeks reddened. "Just look at the walls."

"They appear to be posters of the ship that I am stationed on."

"Yes." She walked around the room. "Look." She gestured to the wall above her electronic keyboard. "These are all the pictures I have drawn of you."

"I still do not quite understand how you have obtained knowledge of my existence."

"You're Data! You're the only Soong-type android to ever enlist in Starfleet academy. You serve onboard the best ship." Having registered the android's still perplexed reaction, she decided to continue. "You're my favourite character off my favourite TV show! I... Erm... I kinda fancied you... Fancy." She looked at the floor, slightly embarrassed.

"I think I may understand." Data walked around and picked up a little 5 inch figurine bearing remarkable similarity to himself; in fact, it was him. He put the action figure back on the shelf it came from. "I appear to have been transported into another dimension."

"What, like, a parallel universe?" She stared at him in confusion and wonder, wide-eyed.

He nodded. "Very much so."

"But... How is this real? I've researched every bit of science fiction I know to see if it could be a possibility and we haven't even achieved warp speed yet. I know you're from hundreds of years in the future, but I believe the human race can do this. We have to do this."

Data considered what the child had said and deemed it to be very in-depth. "What year is it?"

"It's 2013. One of the most boring years I've had endure so far."

"I am sure you have gone on many interesting... missions."

"Yeah." She sat down on her bed. "I suppose you're right. I've been to two concerts and to the science museum... In London."

"Could you please clarify, concert?" Data asked, confused.

"Yeah! Y'know, where there's music and everyone dances and has a good time and everything?"

"May I ask, what genre of music do you prefer?"

"I'm a rock chick!" She giggled to herself. "I love stuff like the Beatles and Roy Orbison. Not like all my friends." She laughed again.

Data thought deeply for a moment. "I believe that is called 'rock n' roll'." She thanked God that it wasn't C3-P0 who had transported there. Holding an interesting conversation with him would surely be a challenge and a half.

"Yeah, it is." She agreed and giggled softly.

"It is also to my knowledge that Zefram Cochrane's preference was the very same genre that you are referring to."

"Yeah! I know! It's so awesome that we like the same stuff. I just wish this world could do what your world can do."

Once again, Data found the girl's words intriguing and strangely compelling.

Breaking the silence, she decided to introduce herself. "Well, you've been here for a while, so I guess I should tell you who I am. My name is Ellie."

Data nodded and asked another question. "Where are we?"

"Not someone anyone would want to be. Y'know, its all debt and all that. But, we're in Great Britain - near London."

"I am not sure I am familiar with this precise location."

"Nah, I didn't think you'd have heard of this... Dump." She sighed once more.

"I am sorry. Dump?"

"Erm... It's just not wonderful here. Anyway, I was gonna have a shower, but I guess that's out of the question, as you're here and I need to keep an eye on you. I might as well go and get some milk. I fancy a coffee."

She stood up and started to leave, when she turned around and saw that the android was in the same position and hadn't moved. "You're coming with me."

Data listened and walked down the stairs, following the adolescent.

They walked out of the front door, once the girl had gotten some money from her purse and the door key. The black door handle clicked in place as it closed.

"Which way is quickest?" Ellie said to herself. "Never mind, we'll go this way." She said this sentence louder.

"I hope I took enough money." She searched her jeans pocket for the change she had taken. "Let me see... " she counted the money and found there was more than enough.

"... Ellie, I am unsure of how to explain myself." He pointed out the obvious.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

"Bridge?"

"Commander La Forge?" Picard called out across the bridge of the Enterprise.

"Yes, captain?" He called back.

"Have you made any further progress regarding our missing officer?" He asked, referring to Data's apparent disappearance.

"I'm afraid not, sir. However, what we do know is that he is not close. Definitely _not_ close."

"How many light years are we talking?" The French captain asked, anxiously.

"Not light years, sir. It appears that what chief O'Brien speculated is the most probable answer. Data is in a different dimension. A parallel world."

The British teenager held the lost android at arm's length, straining her neck to keep their faces level. "Right, don't go anywhere. Just stay here." She pointed to the grassy ground next to the small corner shop that they were standing adjacent to.

Data nodded and resumed his position. The girl walked into the shop and returned with a small carton of semi-skimmed milk. "Ugh, it would be so much easier with replicators!" She muttered to herself.

Turning her head to see an old woman looking at Data rather curiously, she ran over to him.

"Erm... Hey dad!" She yelled at Data, who looked as perplexed as ever.

"I am not your father... " he started.

Se turned her attention to the nosey pensioner. "How are you today?"

"How very kind of you to ask. Apart from this hip, I am quite well." Her lips curled into a wrinkle-filled, but polite smile. "Your father is wearing some very strange things."

"Oh, yeah." Ellie searched her mind for something to say. She was almost certain that this old lady wouldn't recognise Data, so she lied; she had to. "It's, uh, its... Comic-con, and he's a proper science fiction nerd." She needn't had offered that explanation, as the OAP had already left and was slowly walking away with her brown corgi yapping and following her.

"Sorry about that." Ellie blushed.

"There is no need to apologise."

"Yeah, right. I guess we'd better be heading back now."

The yellow eyed android agreed. "Yes."

"May I ask, where are your parents?" He asked as they walked up the steep hill, back to Ellie's house.

She looked up at him, envious of his inability to feel tired. "My mum's gone to work and my sister's at her friend's house. My dad doesn't live with us anymore; my parents are divorced. I really miss him, though. He's pretty much the whole reason I'm so interested in space and planets and... How I know who you are." She smiled at Data, after brushing the hair out of her eyes.

"Ah... Home sweet home." she closed the door behind herself and flopped down on the brownish sofa, putting her feet up on the magazine filled coffee table.

Data just stood in the hallway awkwardly. Seeing his expression, Ellie stepped in. "Sit down." She patted the area of space next to her.

Data had just sat down, when Ellie realised that the whole reason they had traipsed down to that scruffy little corner shop was to get milk so she could make herself a coffee and got up and went into the kitchen to boil the kettle.

"I don't suppose you want anything?" She almost had to yell over the sound of the kettle's whistling.

His voice remained neutral. "I do not require sustenance to maintain my physical and mental strength."

The girl murmured quietly, "I'll take that as a 'no thank you'."

Moments later, she came back into to living room and placed her black coffee on the table beside the biggest sofa. She saw that Data had gotten up and was looking at some of the numerous photographs scattered on the window sill, mantelpiece and walls of the room.

"I see you're admiring our family photos," she said.

He nodded in his characteristic way of doing so.

"Let's see what's on TV, shall we?" She sat back down in her usual seat and turned the LCD television on. The TV guide came on screen and she flicked through the channels.

"This is a most curious device."

Ellie had researched just about everything to do with Star Trek, but television must have been one of the few things she had missed. "You don't have televisions where you come from?"

"We do have 'holo-novels' and computers, but no devices quite like this one."

She took her coffee and had a sip, flinching at the feel of the heat of the liquid touching her tongue. "Well, you can study this one, if you like. That's all my mum says I do!" She laughed to herself, almost spilling her drink.

"Hmm," she considered as she absent mindedly flicked through the TV stations. _Family Guy? too cartoony. The Inbetweeners? too rude. EastEnders? too depressing. _

"Ah." She sounded surprised and happy. "This looks good." She pressed one button on the remote and the screen flickered ever so slightly and the programme came into view. It was a documentary on the Discovery channel about aliens. Ellie thought this would be interesting for Data to see what it was like to view extra-terrestrials from the point of view of someone from the 21st century. "Let's watch this."

"What is it about?" Data became more curious.

"It's about aliens and if they exist and everything. I wish they existed, but not evil ones, nice ones. It would be cool to have an alien as a friend."

"Where I come from, there are many individuals from many different races."

"I know, that's so cool!" She started to feel sad. "I'm fed up of this world. I can't wait until first contact or when humans discover the first world with life, or that could support life." She let out a long sigh.

He cocked his head curiously to one side. "Am I correct in assuming that your facial expression indicates... sadness?"

"Yep, that's right." She began to concentrate on the TV. "I'm just gonna watch this and wait until the ending minutes when the voiceover says something like 'Unfortunately, no evidence of alien life has been found so far'. I sometimes wonder if there's a point to all this."

"There is always a point. I believe that everything, be it alive or otherwise, has a purpose to fulfil in life, but we just have to find it."

"Thank you." She turned her head to face him and smiled. "Maybe there's hope after all." She thought to herself.

The television show narrator continued to talk, "one of the most promising candidates for supporting alien life is one of Saturn's many moons, Titan. Titan has an atmosphere consisting mainly of nitrogen, much like on Earth and it is the only known body in or solar system to show clear evidence of having liquid water."

Ellie asked the android a question in response to the documentary. "So, do you think there's life on Titan?"

"I am sorry. Your civilisation is pre-warp, I am forbidden by the Prime Directive to tell you anymore. I have already disclosed than I should have. If I had not been mistakenly beamed into your living quarters, then we would not even be talking." He gave her a somewhat apologetic smile.

"Data, didn't you see all those pictures I drew of you, and the posters and the models? That wasn't just some crazy coincidence." She was trying to subliminally plead with him.

"Your conclusion is quite logical. I do not think that saying much more will breach the directive." He reconsidered. " Titan is used as a rendezvous point before beginning training maneuvers during preparations for Starfleet Academy's commencement exercises." He paused. "But, so far, there has been no native life observed." Seeing the girl's negative reaction to what he had just said, he added something. "However, Ganymede, one of Jupiter's moons, is inhabited. You must never give up, if there is life on your planet, then there is a very probable chance that there is life on other worlds too."

"I guess all we have to worry about is getting there."

Suddenly, a loud knocking noise came from the front door.

"Oh crap! It's my mum, she's back." She ran around the room briefly, in panic, and then reached a risky conclusion. "Erm... Why can I do with you?" She signalled for Data to stand up. They had to be very careful when they moved; the lounge area was clearly visible from the front door and the front windows, but, luckily, they got past unseen. She then signalled for the android to follow her and they exited from the back door. She led him into their unused garage. "Stay here. Please, don't say _anything. I_'m sure the _Enterprise_ will be here to collect you soon, but in the meantime, just sit tight. Be super quiet, don't say a thing! I'll come down and see you in an hour or so, just as soon as my mum and my sister are out of my way. I promise." She waved goodbye to him and shut the garage door behind her, leaving Data inside it.

"Ellie!" Her sister knocked in the front door louder and louder. "Open the door!" She shouted again.

"I'm coming!" Ellie said to herself.

"It took you a long time to open the door." Her mum pointed out.

"Yeah, sorry. I was... Erm... " she tried to find a feasible excuse. "I was asleep."

Her mother tutted. "I've told you, no more late nights! It may be Saturday today, but it'll be Monday soon, and you'll have to go back to school."

"Don't remind me!" Meg, Ellie's sister, moaned.

"Why do you have your shoes on?" Her mother asked her.

Ellie glanced down, and sure enough, she had forgotten to take them off. _Well done._ "Oh, I went to the corner shop to go and get some milk. We were running a little low, so I though I'd help." She flashed her oblivious mother an innocent smile.

"Thank you. But, I'd rather you didn't leave the house when I'm out. Did you have the money?"

"Yeah, don't worry. It was only like 50p."

Five hours had passed and the household had gone to bed. Two people were asleep, but one was wide awake. She had been sat on her bed for the last hour, recounting the events of the day. She decided that everyone was fast asleep and took her chances. She pulled on a drab hoodie that was far too big for her and crept as quietly as she could down the stairs. She reached the kitchen and opened the back door, being very careful not to shake the keys. She walked slowly out of the back door and came to the garage and slid the bolt across; opening the wide wooden door.

"Hey." She said quietly to Data. She didn't want him to be too loud, so she made sure she warned him in advance. "Shh. Don't talk too loudly."

He reassured her to the best of his abilities. "I will endeavour to use the lowest volume possible to communicate at this present moment.

"Are you okay?" She brushed a cobweb out of her face, grimacing as shecaught sight of a spider.

"I am 'okay'."

"Do you want a chair?" She paused, considering. I'm not quite sure, but you don't need to rest do you?"

"I have no need for a chair, I do not require rest."

"Right. I knew that!" She smiled. "So, will it be okay if I leave you here for the time being and come and get you in the morning?"

Data nodded and sat down in the deck chair that Ellie had already pulled out for him.

"There's a hell of a lot of spiders in here." She advised.

"I do find Arachnids a curiosity, so their abundant presence should be helpful."

She suppressed a smile. "I'll leave you to your spider watching, then."

The following morning, her alarm went off and she reached out and turned it off. What time was it? Damn, it was ready 11 in the morning. She had a quick shower and got changed then she ran downstairs. Stopping to study her reflection in the mirror, she adjusted her hair and make-up.

"Should I water the plants?" She asked, as pleasantly as she could.

"Yes, but eat your breakfast first."

As soon as she had finished her last mouthful, she quickly slipped on her flip flops and ran outside, opening the garage door. She had to be careful, even though her sister was still fast asleep and her mother was transfixed watching some boring cookery show in the living room.

The teenaged girl greeted the android. "Hi, Data. My mum has to work again, so our only problem is my sister. But, she's asleep, so I'm hoping she stays asleep for a couple more hours." Thinking of or, she snorted. The four horsemen of the apocalypse could come knocking, and her sister would still be in bed.

"Bye girls!" Their mother said as she set off for work.

"Bye mum!" Ellie called back to her. Meg didn't offer any signs of waking up so far.

The front door closed noisily and Ellie continued her conversation with Data.

"Well, my mum's off to work now. Megan hasn't shown any signs of waking up anytime soon, so I think we're safe."

"What do you recommended we do?" Data asked.

"I don't know, I've never really had to entertain someone I thought was just a fictional character but who actually is real, before." She made the joke, but Data didn't react, as she has expected. "I think I'll give you a tour of the town. What do you think?"

"I believe your idea seems interesting.

Once Ellie had brushed her hair and cleaned her teeth, she picked up her bag and left the house; closing the door as humanely possible. Data followed.

"I don't think we'll walk. Lets go and look at the bus times." They walked down the hill and crossed the busy main road. Once they had finally reached the other side, Ellie read the timetable, intently. "Right." She pointed to the map in front of her. "We can catch the 102." She looked over at the road. "Ah, it's early."

She went over to Data. "I'll get the tickets, just stay with me." She felt weird; it was like she was treating a grown man like a child. But, then again, Data wasn't a man, and he wasn't from this world, either. Or this dimension. Or this time period.

She stepped onto the bus and asked for two return tickets to the town centre. They sat down at the front of the bus, next to each other. They received a lot of odd looks. Data was very pale, but his uniform was definitely a bit odd. Ellie decided she would just stick with the Comic-con story she used earlier.

They got off the bus and reached the busy centre of town. "Well, here it is. It's quite busy. What do you want to do?"

"I have no particular preference."

"Right, well, anyway. I think we need to get you some different clothes." They made their way to a cheap department store and Ellie began to look for a suitable clothing item for the android.

"Look, you can choose anything you want... As long as its less than £5."

"I am unfamiliar with the currency. Is the amount you specified a lot of money?"

"No, it's not much, but its pretty much all I've got. Hurry up and choose something. It looks like its going to rain." She made a face as she looked out of the floor-to-ceiling windows of the shop and saw grey clouds forming overhead and as far as the eye could see.

Data handed a plain black t-shirt to her.

"Hmmm... I think it would make your already pale... skin stand out." She put that shirt back and picked out a white one in the same design. "I'm not sure if your uniform is kind of like a one-piece suit, or what. So do you need trousers to?"

"The top half of my attire can be separated from the lower half. Is that what you were referring to?"

Again, she blushed. "Yes. Okay, I'll just get this shirt then. Stay here." She left Data standing where the shirt was from whilst she went to pay. She came back with the t-shirt in a plastic bag.

"Here." She handed it over to him. "I'm not sure where you're gonna put it on, though."

"I do have clothing underneath this uniform. Could it be deemed as rude if I put the new shirt on now?"

"Erm... No. I don't think so." She paused for a moment, trying to father her thoughts. She had always had a soft spot for Data and now he was going to take his shirt off. "Take your over shirt off and I'll put it in this bag." She gestured to the plastic bag she had just been given by the cashier.

Data did so and tried to adjust to wearing his new garment.

"Very handsome." She smiled at him, then put the Starfleet uniform in the bag.

He cocked his head to one side. What did that movement even _really_ devote? she wondered.

They walked it of the shop and stood on the pavement for a short while. "I'm not sure where else we could go." They walked for some time. Er... That's the church." She pointed to a huge brick building with an impressive spire and stained-glass windows. "And, that's a pharmacy." She noticed the little 'cross' symbol above a small building to their left.

"I don't know if there's anything else that would be of interest." They continued walking for some more.

"Anyway, we'd better head back, the bus should be coming back. They then made their way to the bus ration and caught their bus just in time. The journey home took a considerably shorter amount of time than the journey there. However, despite the bus being not as full, Data still received some odd looks from passers by; not to mention the bus diver, who Ellie suspected was definitely drunk, judging by how fangirly she was acting around this man. And just thanked the Lord that her hometown was not known for being particularly intellectual when it came to it's residence, otherwise, she realised, there would probably be some very excited... very confused nerds about.

The walk up the hill was easier than it had been yesterday, which was probably just as well, because Meg was awake when they go back. She was still in bed, but she was awake. Ellie didn't want her sister to wonder why she looked so tired, when she was supposed to be oblivious to the fact that she had just walked up what was probably the steepest hill in the UK.

With Meg still being upstairs doing whatever it was she was up to, Ellie managed to sneak into the house with Data, unnoticed.

Geordi LaForge arrived at the bridge after a hard day's work in engineering trying to get his list comrade back, but was sporting a massive grin.

Reading the chief engineer's facial expression, Riker smiled. "Have you found Data yet?"

"Well, we haven't him, but I think I may have successfully rigged the commutation a systems to reach inter-dimensional recipients."

"Great work, Geordi." The first officer praised him. "Captain, should we try out Geordi's idea?"

"Yes, see if you can open a hailing frequency to Data."

"Aye, sir." Geordi closed his eyes and silently revised his calculations over and over again in his head to make sure h had gotten them all one hundred percent correct, and he had. He carried out his orders and the entire bridge crew of the Enterprise waited patiently for their lieutenant commander to respond. After the first try, there was no response.

"Don't worry." LaForge tried to reassure his crew mates that his plan would work. It had to work, they couldn't lose Data. He tried one more time.

"Data!" Ellie whispered to her friend as she was taking his uniform out of the plastic bag.

"Yes? What is it?" He asked, curiously.

"Your communicator, its making a noise."

Data pressed the badge on the front of the folded shirt and listened intently for the message. Finally, Geordi got message through.

"Data!" His voice crackled.

Data reasoned who it was. "Geordi? How are you able to contact me?"

"Just some of my handiwork." Although Data could not see it, Geordi smirked. "The captain wants to talk to you."

As Picard said what he was saying, Ellie stood close to Data, as to make sure that she wouldn't miss a word of this conversation.

"Data, are you alright?" Picard asked.

"I am very well, sir." Data replied.

"Standby, we are easy to beam you up."

"Wait." Data looked around to seem the young girl who had looked after him and who hasn't shown him off to everyone. She was standing in the corner. " I wish to spend a few more moments here."

"Permission granted. Geordi said we can hold contact for a little longer." Picard allowed Data to do what he wanted to do, whatever it was.

"Here." Data have his uniform top to Ellie, who accepted it gladly and she showed a broad smile.

"Thank you." She was almost crying. "Stay there for one minute, let me get something for you." She then galloped up the stairs and came racing back down with a picture of Data that she had drawn. "Here, you can have this. It's not very good, mind you."

"It is very impressive." He took the picture from her. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." She smiled again. She then reached into the pocket of her hoodie and took out her phone. "Can I take a picture?" She asked him softly.

He fronwed.

"I can just say its from a convention," and suggested, looking hopeful.

He nodded gently and she stood next to him, holding the camera phone in front of them. She clicked the shutter and the picture taken. She would have the memory forever.

Captain Picard's voice spoke again through the communicator. "Enterprise to Data. We have to beam you up now. We're losing you. However, Geordi has advised me that a universe merging may occur. In fact, if you beam up, it is definite. Our universes will merge."

"I do not think that there is anything that should concern you. This universe is quite pleasant." He looked over at Ellie. "Energise." His body shimmered and the sketch she had given him went with him and they disappeared from her view.

Once he had had gone, Ellie looked out of the window and everything looked as it had before. Maybe there was not universe merging, and Geordi LaForge was wrong. She had an idea and went over to the computer. She typed 'Eugenics War' into the search engine, and on the Wikipedia page, it said when it happened and it said nothing to to with Star Trek. She scampered up the stairs and looked to see that all her Star Trek action figures, posters and drawings ha all disappeared. Geordi was right! She smiled to herself. She hid the Starfleet uniform that Data had given her in her room and looked at the picture of the both of them that she had taken. It was real.

Fifty years in the future...

It's April 5th 2063...

"Hey! Grandma!" A young boy yelled at the old woman siting in the pale green chair by the fire. "Look at the TV!" He pointed at the silver screen in the corner.

"James! Don't annoy grandma!" A woman of about thirty scalded the boy.

"Aw, mum! But look what's on the TV!"

"Oh... My... God!" The mother exclaimed. They're real!" She pointed at the screen, her hand shaking.

The boy's father had walked in, after a long walk with the dog and sat down on the sofa in front of the television. "Holy mother!"

"Are they aliens?" James asked his grandmother.

"Yes, yes, they are."_ He did it! Data did it!_

"They're not bad aliens are they?" He looked curiously up at her.

"I don't believe so." She smiled warmly. "Watch the screen."

The whole family heeded her words and watched intently as the alien craft touched down in Montana and a shady figure stepped out of the oddly shaped spacecraft. As he came closer into view, he appeared to be human. That is, until he pulled his hood down to reveal to upturned eyebrows and pointed ears. The alien lifted his right hand up an uttered the first words an alien would say to a human. "Live long and prosper."

The man who was responsible for this happening was Zefram Cochrane and he attempted to return the off lander's greeting. He was, however, unable to so he reached out his arm and the two races shook hands. An image that would pave the way for humanity for the centuries to come.

The grandmother looked at her young grandson. "This is a very special day. Remember it." She offered him a comforting smile. "Whenever you feel sad, think of this day and what it means for humanity. Peace. Peace on Earth."

The boy was probably too young to fully grasp the meaning but he understood it as much as it need to be understood. Humanity begins here. He looked up at his grandmother. "Do you think I could do that? Do you think I could be I one of those ships?"

"You never know. I think you could one day be captain. You could go anywhere. And not just to Mars... with warp, we can go anywhere."

"Really?" The eleven year old's mind was opened farther than anyone could think was possible.

"I knew it was real." Ellie whispered gently. She looked out of the window and sighed, smiling at the lights glistening in the sky.


End file.
